Arthur Masuaku cost West Ham points vs Brighton, Manuel Pellegrini must act

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Manuel Pellegrini has to consider taking Arthur Masuaku out of the equation going forwards, with the full-back partly responsible for Brighton’s winner on Friday.

The Seagulls beat the Hammers 1-0 at the Amex Stadium to put an end to the visitors’ encouraging run of late.

West Ham beat Manchester United the weekend before, drew with Chelsea, and beat Everton.

But they came undone on Friday, thanks in-part to some poor defending from Masuaku.

The Frenchman was a bystander as Glenn Murray stole in unmarked to score his fifth Premier League goal of the season.

It was a soft goal to concede, and now Pellegrini has the chance to get tough.

Pellegrini surely sees the light

The manager has to have seen that an felt concerned.

Murray should not have been allowed to ghost in as he did.

Masuaku should have been tracking the Englishman. One has to wonder how Aaron Cresswell might have dealt with the situation.

Masuaku has good attacking instincts, but he leaves a lot to be desired in terms of actual defending.

On a number of occasions this season, he has worried the West Ham faithful by over-committing to the attack. He often leaves gaps for opposition wingers to exploit.

Pellegrini must now show he can be pragmatic.

Masuaku’s mistake was as clear as day. If Pellegrini leaves him in against Tottenham Hotspur and the same thing happens, then that’ll be a major concern for the fans.

He has to be reactive now. The player has been threatening to make a costly error, and on Friday he did just that.